Francisco Sierra: record, next fight and profile →
Jack “Shady” Grady was a throwback in name and style, but faced with the more technically sound John Hernandez in the four-round welterweight opener at Barclays Center, it was a long night for the game Buffalo product, who brought the fight to his foe all night but remained winless after losing a four-round unanimous decision.
Daniel Jacobs and Peter Quillin are set to square off in a middleweight bout billed as the Battle for Brooklyn. Both fighters made weight ahead of their Showtime-televised headliner Saturday evening at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Jacobs (30-1, 27KOs) tipped the scales at a ripped and ready 159.5 lbs. for the third defense of his version of the middleweight title. Quillin - who missed weight ahead in attempt to reclaim his old belt from Andy Lee in April - came in surprisingly light yet finely sculpted at 159 lbs.
NEW YORK – SHOWTIME Sports® will televise the 10-round welterweight matchup between former world champion and Long Island-native Chris Algieri (20-2, 8 KOs) and Ecuador’s Erick Bone (16-2, 8 KOs) on SHOWTIME BOXING ON SHO EXTREME, Saturday, Dec. 5, live at 7 p.m. ET/PT from Barclays Center in Brooklyn. In the opening bout on SHO EXTREME, undefeated rising star and 2012 U.S. Olympian Marcus Browne (16-0, 12 KOs), of Staten Island, will take on experienced veteran Francisco Sierra (27-9-1, 24 KOs).
On Saturday, 30-year-old Francisco "El Bandido" Vargas (22-0-1) will get his first crack at a title when he faces WBC featherweight champion Takashi Miura (29-2-2) at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on the Las Vegas strip. The fight is part of the Miguel Cotto-Saul Alvarez HBO Pay-Per-View undercard. Miura has developed a reputation for his success against Mexican fighters. Since losing to his countryman Takashi Uchiyama, he has reeled off 9 consecutive wins, including 5 against fighters from Mexico.
In the opening bout of the Top Rank/ Bash Boxing card, Lenny Zappavigna (34-2, 24 KOs) stopped Ramon Ayala in the sixth round. It was all Zappavigna from the opening bell as he walked Ayla down. Despite fighting with cuts along both eyes, Zappavigna landed at will with hooks and crosses. Ayala's (23-5-1, 11 KOs) punch output dropped as the bout progressed. After Zappavigna launched a barrage of punches that stunned Ayala, referee David Denkin stepped in and stopped the bout at 2:40.
Lightweight contender Jose Felix (30-1-1, 25 KOs) returns to action this weekend versus Marcos Leonardo Jimenez. Their scheduled 10-riund bout tops a Top Rank-promoted show at the Sportsmen's Lodge in the Los Angeles suburb of Studio City, Calif. , airing live on UniMas (Saturday, 11:00 p.m. ET/PT).
Erislandy Lara looks to return to the win column as he defends his version of the 154 lb. crown versus former titlist Ishe Smith. The bout headlines a SHOWTIME-televised tripleheader, which airs live from Illusions Theatre in San Antonio, Texas.
By Jake Donovan - Marco Antonio Periban was given all that he could handle in eking out a controversial majority decision over Francisco Sierra in the televised co-feature. Scores were 95-95 even, 96-94 and 97-93 for Periban in a decision that was met with mixed reactions (though mostly boos).
By Jake Donovan On a day where all principles involved in a televised show made weight, drama still couldn't escape the podium in San Jose, California. Selcuk Aydin and Robert Guerrero both successfully made weight for their SHOWTIME-televised headliner Saturday evening at the HP Pavilion in San Jose. However, tension ran high as their respective camps nearly came to blows while sharing the stage during Friday's weigh-in, which was open to the public. Aydin weighed in at 146.5 lb, while Guerrero was well within the welterweight limit at 145.75 lb. The weight serves as a career-high for Guerrero, who moves up from lightweight while on the heels of a 15-month layoff.
At the Maywood Activity Center in Maywood, California, lightweight contender Oscar Meza (21-4, 17 KOs) picked up an eight round unanimous decision over Leo Martinez (15-15, 7 KOs). The scores were 80-72, 78-73 and 79-72. Martinez went down in the seventh round.